South Korean activists rally in front of photos of the detained U.S. journalists. (Jung Yeon-Je / AFP)
'No one can hurt your soul. You are not alone."
That's what Roxana Saberie, the U.S. journalist who was imprisoned for almost four months in Iran, said she would say to fellow reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were sentenced last week to 12 years of hard labor by a North Korean court.
It is a beautiful message, meant to instill courage during an anguished time in not only these two young women held captive, but their families and loved ones, and too, our country, as it walks the fine line of working for their release without sparking the minefield of North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
And while guts, passion, tenacity and perseverance are desirable traits, especially in journalism, there is such a thing as having too much ambition, especially as idealistic, competitive young women out to get to the best story and put their mark on the world.
Somebody above them, a mentor or more seasoned journalist, should have weighed the risks involved in being anywhere near the terribly volatile North Korean soil, and too, the lack of safeguards applied by their employer, Current TV.
Current TV is the cable/satellite station co-founded by Al Gore. Its "backpack" journalism method outfits reporters with portable, easy-to-use technology that allows movement through dangerous territory.
While nothing excuses the complete sham of the North Korean closed-door trial and the utterly cruel sentence, you can't help but wonder about the journalists' ill-conceived plan.
Miles Spicer of the Daily Kos, a Web site that covers politics and other current affairs, observed: "There seems to be trend recently involving young, highly educated female journalists getting in trouble in the world's most scandalous countries and political regimes.
"The boldness with which these young women dive into the world of investigative journalism is unprecedented. But is it because doing so is the only way for these young females to prove themselves in the world of 'real' journalism? Do they feel like they have taken on the extra risks to really prove themselves as tough, conscientious journalists?"
Saberie, the 32-year-old journalist released from Iran, grew up in Fargo, N.D. (her father was born in Iran, her mother in Japan) and had worked as a freelance journalist when arrested in Iran and given an eight-year jail sentence. Her parents were told she was arrested for buying alcohol; she was later charged with espionage for working without valid press credentials.
After much international pressure, Saberie was released into the arms of her parents a little over a month ago. But imagine if her release had been delayed. With the present chaos over presidential elections, one can only wonder what her fate might have been.
It is one is one thing for Richard Engel, NBC's Middle East bureau chief and a veteran war zone correspondent, to be dodging bullets in Iraq while taping news segments and quite another for fearless females reporting about the plight of North Korean women sold through human traffickers on the China/North Korea border.
The New York Times reported that Ling and Lee were detained on the North Korean side of the Tumen River, which is "shallow and narrow and is easily crossed in spots on foot or by swimming."
Laura Ling, 36, was said to be following in the footsteps of her more famous older sister, National Geographic contributor Lisa Ling.
In a Current TV promotional video, Laura Ling described her mission as a vice president of the channel's vanguard journalism unit as being dedicated to investigating the "big issues really affecting our world. "We're trying to push the envelope here," Laura Ling said on camera, "and stay out in front of events, rather than regurgitate news headlines."
Lee who is 32, was the film editor on the project. Raised in South Korea, the Los Angeles Times quoted a colleague who described her as "an unsung hero," saying that she went because she was the only person on the team who spoke Korean.
Lee's husband, Michael Saldate, and father of their 4-year-old daughter, Hannah, told CNN's Larry King he has not yet told his daughter the details of her mother's imprisonment. Holding back tears, he said: "She still thinks Mommy is at work."
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